Magic takeaways vs. Heat: Injury updates, da Silva, Vučević and more

ORLANDO, Fla. — Paolo Banchero scored 24 points for the second straight game, and Desmond Bane added 23 points to lead the Orlando Magic to a 136-115 victory over the Miami Heat on Friday to close out their preseason schedule.

Banchero also added seven rebounds and four assists, while going 13-for-16 from the free-throw line in 26 minutes, 21 seconds. Bane hit seven 3-pointers, including four in the second quarter, as the Magic erased an early 12-point deficit to take the lead for good.

They accounted for 47 of the starters’ 68 total points, with Franz Wagner finishing with 11, Jalen Suggs with eight and Wendell Carter Jr. with two after battling early foul trouble. Jamal Cain led the bench efforts with 14 points, Nikola Vučević scored 13 and Tristan da Silva had 12.

Orlando finished the preseason 3-1 under first-year head coach Sean Sweeney. The group opens the regular season Wednesday at the Kia Center against the Atlanta Hawks.

Here are three observations from the win on Friday:

• Anthony Black, who was sidelined for the first three preseason games with an ankle injury, sat the finale on Friday. He fully participated in shootaround Friday morning, but was ruled out before the game as he continues to ramp up his on-court activity. His status for the season opener is uncertain.

• Noah Penda checked in late in the first quarter, but quickly exited after coming up holding the back of his right leg. He immediately ran off the court toward the locker room and was ruled out of returning after just 2 minutes, 21 seconds due to right hamstring tightness. The second-year Frenchman previously dealt with a similar injury that limited him at the start of training camp.

• Jase Richardson was ruled out for the second half with a sore lower back. He was scoreless in 6 minutes, 46 seconds of action. Veteran Jevon Carter took over as backup point guard, finishing with three points and three assists in 13 minutes.

• Franz Wagner exited the game midway through the third quarter after favoring his right arm. He was later ruled out of returning due to right shoulder soreness, finishing with 11 points, six rebounds, six assists and one steal in 19 minutes, 28 seconds.

Anthony Black, who was sidelined for the first three preseason games with an ankle injury, sat the finale on Friday. He fully participated in shootaround Friday morning, but was ruled out before the game as he continues to ramp up his on-court activity. His status for the season opener is uncertain.

Noah Penda checked in late in the first quarter, but quickly exited after coming up holding the back of his right leg. He immediately ran off the court toward the locker room and was ruled out of returning after just 2 minutes, 21 seconds due to right hamstring tightness. The second-year Frenchman previously dealt with a similar injury that limited him at the start of training camp.

Jase Richardson was ruled out for the second half with a sore lower back. He was scoreless in 6 minutes, 46 seconds of action. Veteran Jevon Carter took over as backup point guard, finishing with three points and three assists in 13 minutes.

Franz Wagner exited the game midway through the third quarter after favoring his right arm. He was later ruled out of returning due to right shoulder soreness, finishing with 11 points, six rebounds, six assists and one steal in 19 minutes, 28 seconds.

Sweeney didn’t have any additional injury information on Penda, Richardson or Wagner after the game, but said that they’ll be reevaluated at a later time.

Tristan da Silva has the ultimate green light early on.

After converting 40% of his 3.8 attempts from beyond the arc last season, da Silva came into Friday attempting 10.7 3-pointers this preseason. He took five more against the Heat and made two. Sweeney said the team is encouraging the third-year forward to let it fly if the shot is there.

How many attempts should that be, exactly?

“What’s the most that he can take?” Sweeney jokingly asked on Tuesday. “I think he is a phenomenal shooter. He works at it. He does a great job of finding the right shots. If the opportunity presents itself to take five, take five. If it is 10, take 10. If it is 15, take 15 and then make the right decision when you have the ball each time. I’m good with whatever comes with it.”

After playing with the Magic from 2012-2021, Vučević suited up at the Kia Center for the first time in his second stint. Vučević, who leads the franchise in field goals and ranks second in rebounds and third in points, received a warm ovation from an announced crowd of 18,846.

The two-time All-Star ingratiated himself back in Central Florida well, recording 13 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals in 22 minutes, 32 seconds off the bench. He missed all three 3-point attempts but finished 5-for-11 from the field.

While Vučević was the primary backup center on Friday, Goga Bitadze got most of those minutes on Tuesday, scoring 14 points. Sweeney has been pleased with both players’ efforts this preseason and hinted that the team will take a game-by-game approach to the backup spot.

“I think both of those guys did a really good job in a number of ways,” Sweeney said. “We’ll just use those guys as we see fit, but those guys have done a good job, and I’ve liked where both of them are at: They’ve impacted the game in positive ways every time they’ve played.”